In 2014 one of the eight (!!!) ballot measures North Dakotans voted on was Measure 4, a constitutional amendment passed by the Legislature which did two things. First, it required that measures with a significant fiscal impact be placed on the general election ballot. Second, it prohibited constitutional amendments which would require the legislature to…

Democrats and left-wing activists making wild legal accusations before election day, which ultimately get rejected after election day, has become something of a tradition in North Dakota. During the 2012 election cycle it was a lawsuit, filed by a group of environmental activists and touted during their campaigns by Democrats on the statewide ballot like Pam…

“Silver lining shines within N.D. Dems’ election cloud” That’s the headline over a letter to the editor written by the Democrat leadership in the North Dakota Legislature in which House and Senate Minority Leaders Kenton Onstad and Mac Schneider do their best to spin what was an undeniably ugly election day for North Dakota liberals. For…

Back in September SAB columnist James Kerian wrote in a column that Republicans, who typically disdain early voting, must adapt to it. “In a contest we must let our actions be guided by what the rules are, not what we would wish them to be,” he wrote. That statement is looking wise in light of…

I was having lunch with a friend this week and he asked me what my conclusions were from this election. I’ve come up with two, but I think they’re actually due to the same underlying cause. The first one is this: North Dakotans have a vague, hazy comfort zone on abortion, and they respond negatively…

Well, the election is over, and now we know who will be governing us in Washington for the last two years of President Obama’s term and who will be serving us in Bismarck come January. The North Dakota voters have also spoken on eight amendments and initiatives. Like many people over the next few weeks,…

Heidi Heitkamp wasn’t on the ballot last night, but she gave a lot of money to people who were on the ballot, and most of those people lost. After winning a narrow upset victory over Republican Rick Berg in 2012, a race she was widely seen as losing, Heitkamp gained status among Democrats as someone…

In the lead-up to the 2012 elections there was a lot of speculation about how much impact the state’s oil boom, which has brought with it a booming population, would have on voter turnout. The answer after the 2012 election was “not much.” The answer after the 2014 election continues to be “not much.” From…

It’s finally over. The ads have grown annoying, even for the candidates and measures I support. I am worn out from debating the issues in this election. I can only imagine how the candidates and committees feel as they have been living it for the past several months. As I write this (it’s Tuesday night,…

Allow me to begin my analysis of tonight’s election results with some context. In boxing, top-ranked fighters don’t like to take on bouts with lower-ranked fighters because there’s no upside for them. If they win, they get no credit, because they were supposed to win. If they lose it looks terrible, because they were supposed…